25 Simple Words
by Meegs82
Summary: When Booth finds a very personal note written to him from Brennan, he flies out to Arizona where she is on a book tour to confront her about the contents of the note. Will he be able to make her face her feelings?


**25 SIMPLE WORDS**

**A "BONES" FANFIC**

CHAPTER 1

Special Agent Seeley Booth sat at the desk of Dr. Temperance Brennan, staring down at the piece of paper in his hand. He hadn't moved a muscle in the past 120 seconds. The expression on his face was a mixture of amazement, bewilderment, and happiness. He read the words for the tenth time:

"Booth: You were the only thing in my life that ever made sense. Thank you for always being there for me. I love you. Temperance."

The handwriting was scrawled as if written in a hurry, but it was definitely Brennan's handwriting. The paper seemed aged and Booth silently wondered when she had written it. But more importantly, he wondered why she had written it.

He had been searching for the second half of a case file that he had left in Brennan's office before she had left for Arizona for some book tour a few days earlier. In the second drawer of the desk, Booth had found the case file and this slip of paper had fallen out.

Bones loved him? Why hadn't she given him the note? Her pride had probably gotten in the way, no doubt, Booth thought, a smirk spreading across his face.

"That's my Bones," he said aloud.

"Your Bones, huh?" Angela responded from the door.

Booth jumped, startled at Angela's entrance. "Huh? What?" he spurted out, standing up from the desk and jamming the paper into his pants pocket. His eyes darted around the office and he grabbed the back of his neck with his left hand.

"It takes 20 minutes to find a manila folder?" Angela inquired, her suspicion and interest peaked.

"I was just, uh, you know, going over a few things, just to make sure, you know," Booth shifted the file from one hand to the other and fidgeted, brushing his eyebrow with his finger. "So, why don't we get back to the, uh, the platform and the, uh, bones?" Booth raised his eyebrows and sauntered towards the door of Brennan's office.

Angela stared after him, her mouth half open, "Right. Bones. Very interesting, those……Bones," Angela said, emphasizing the word "bones" and smiling every step of the way back to the platform.

CHAPTER 2

"It looks like the knife scraped the outer patella," Brennan said matter-of-factly, her face illuminating the large monitor in the medico legal lab of the Jeffersonian. "Zack, enlarge the image of the bone graft," she instructed from nearly 2,000 miles away.

Zack did as he was told and Brennan's eyes squinted sharply as she examined the enlarged image. "Yes, the pattern of the knife found in the hotel room matches exactly with the wounds sustained by the victim. Good work, Zack," Brennan offered.

"Hey, I was the one who figured out the whole knife thing," Angela chimed in, clearly annoyed that Brennan had not given her the credit.

"Good work, too, Ang," Brennan said, smiling.

"You're so cute when you're annoyed," Hodgins told Angela, his eyes glowing as she nudged him with her shoulder.

"You two, get a room," Booth joined in from a few feet away, his arms folded across his chest, an irritated look on his face.

Hodgins and Angela glanced over at Booth. Angela simply smirked to herself, knowing full well why he was so pissy.

"Wait, you two have a room, you live together," Brennan replied from Phoenix, Arizona. Booth knew that they lived together, why would he tell them that they needed a room? Brennan pondered.

"It's an expression, sweetie," Angela informed her friend.

"Okay," Brennan responded in a quizzical tone and with a puzzled look on her face.

Booth continued to brood in the corner of the lab as Brennan and Angela talked about Phoenix and how incredibly hot it was in the middle of June. Even as Angela talked to her friend, she paid extremely close attention to Booth, glancing over at him every few seconds. A mischievous smile spread across her face as a light bulb illuminated over her head.

"You know, Bren, you might need Booth's help out there," Angela began.

"What? Why? For my book tour?" Brennan was genuinely confused.

"Yeah, Angela, why would I need to help her on her book tour?" Booth asked, his voice slightly harsher than normal. He glared at Angela, who returned his glare with a bright smile.

"Well, didn't your agent say that with the hype surrounding your book and with your stalker still on the loose, you might need some extra security? And who better to protect you than Booth? I mean, he already knows you so you wouldn't have to hire anybody," Angela continued scheming.

"Ang, I'll be fine. I'll be home in 6 days," Brennan replied.

"Yeah, she'll be home in 6 days," Booth said, uncrossing his arms and standing up, relieved that Bones did not want him there. He was not ready to deal with the note.

"What about your TV interview? Remember the last one you did? You totally botched it," Angela said, matter-of-factly.

"Thanks, Ang," Brennan said, slightly hurt.

"Booth can help you through it so you don't come off like an antisocial moron," Angela laid it on thick.

"Ang!" Brennan replied.

"What? I'm your friend, I'm supposed to tell you the truth," Angela said.

"Technically, there is no way that Dr. Brennan could be considered a moron. Her IQ is well over 175, and she-" Zack managed to say before catching the look of disdain on Angela's face.

Brennan pondered for a moment. "Was I really that bad?" she asked.

Zack, Hodgins, Angela, and Booth (in spite of himself) all replied in perfect unison, "Yeah."

Brennan's eyes flickered and she took a moment before replying, "Booth, will you come out and help me? My interview is in 2 days," she asked, almost pleaded him.

Angela looked over at Booth, who was struggling for words. "Well, I was planning on working on some—"

"He took the week off when you left," Angela announced.

Booth smiled a smile of sheer resentment at Angela, who was still beaming from ear to ear.

"Perfect. So, you won't have to miss work. I don't want to look like an 'antisocial moron' again," Brennan responded, glaring at Angela.

Booth hesitated for a few moments, his brain searching for some excuse, something that could change the situation. It was useless. "Yeah, okay, I'll catch a flight out tomorrow," he finally responded, smiling and grimacing at the same time.

"Thanks, Booth. I don't know what I'd do without you guys," Brennan told them.

"Just remember who came up with the idea……moi," Angela told Brennan, pointing at herself.

"I will, I promise," Brennan replied. "Talk to you all later and see you tomorrow, Booth."

"Right, see you tomorrow," Booth replied, "Bye." He waved at Brennan over the monitor and smiled brightly until she disappeared, at which time his smile changed quickly to a defiant stare. "What was that all about?" he asked Angela.

"Yeah, what was that all about?" Hodgins asked, genuinely confused.

"I just thought you two needed a little alone time. You know, to 'talk' about things or whatever," Angela replied, the grin plastered on her face. "Don't forget sunscreen. It's like 115 degrees in Phoenix," she said as she patted him on the shoulder and practically skipped off away from the platform.

Booth watched her leave and he clenched his fists as he raised them into the air and gritted his teeth.

"Seriously, man, what was that all about?" Hodgins asked again.

"Nothing. Absolutely nothing," Booth replied without looking at Hodgins as he walked off the platform.

"Did I miss something?" Hodgins asked himself.

"Apparently. But don't worry, I missed it too," Zack responded.

"Yeah, well, that's nothing new," Hodgins said as he returned to his bugs.

Zack just glared after him.

CHAPTER 3

Booth had managed to find a non-stop flight from Dulles to Sky Harbor in Phoenix, but he had shelled out a pretty penny as he had booked it the night before. $1,500 for a plane ticket?! He really would do anything for that woman, he had thought as he clicked the "submit" button on the website. And here he was, the next morning at 7:15, boarding the flight to Phoenix. 115 degrees? Oh, dear God. Booth thought as he found his aisle seat and got situated. 5 hours……what would he do for 5 hours with nothing but the note on his mind?

Booth pulled out an in flight magazine and flipped through it as the plane took off. Bored after approximately 5 minutes, he returned the magazine to the seat pocket and pulled out Bones' new book, "Blood, Flesh, and Bone," which he had read twice already. How does she come up with these titles? he thought to himself. He opened to the first page and began reading it for the third time.

"Oh, I love that Dr. Brennan's books! I got that one the day it came out," the lady sitting in the middle seat interrupted Booth's reading. He glanced over at her. She looked to be around 40 and had a bright smile on her face and a slight southern accent.

"Yeah, she's a talented author," Booth said, trying to shift his body away from the woman. She did not seem to catch the hint.

"The way she describes everything is just, so……interesting. Oh, and that FBI agent! Her 'partner'? Now, don't you think that they are more than just partners? I mean seriously, the way she talks about him, you'd swear they were lovers!" the woman continued on, bright and cheery.

Booth smiled briefly at the woman as he snapped the book shut. So much for taking my mind off of it. Booth thought to himself. The woman continued to talk as Booth sat and listened, nodding and smiling at every other comment. Yes, this was going to be a VERY long flight.

"Bones?" Booth asked to the air. "Is that you?" Through the hazy mist, all Booth could make out was a dark figure about 20 feet in front of him. The figure stopped and turned to face Booth, who also halted. An arm reached out towards him and he extended his arm out towards the figure. In the hand, a small piece of paper blew in the wind. He reached, but it was too far. And in an instant, the figure was gone. "Bones?" Booth ran ahead, searching in all directions for where the figure could have gone. The forest was empty. The trees loomed over him; he could see nothing but the faint hint of the moonlight cutting through the fog. He knew she was there……somewhere. She needed him; she was in trouble; he had to get to her……he loved her……she loved him.

Booth stopped in his tracks at the thought. Suddenly, the fog and gray vanished and was replaced by sunlight and blue skies. And instead of a forest, there was a beach with the ocean crashing against the sand. Booth was thoroughly bewildered. "What the…?"

Booth's eyes flashed open as the plane hit a rather large pocket of air. He glanced to his right and saw that the woman next to him was snoring quite peacefully. Thank God he thought to himself.

Wait a second……Bones loved him. She had written it on that piece of paper. Only now did Booth realize how much he had wanted her to say that to him……how much he had wanted to say it to her. The sight of those words on that piece of paper had made his heart leap about 10 feet out of his chest. He was in Heaven for about 20 seconds until the actual realization of the situation had hit him square in the head. Bones would never admit to her feelings even if Booth provided her with the overwhelming evidence that was the plain piece of paper. But what was killing Booth the most was WHY she had written it and NOT given it to him.

Now, 35,000 feet in the air, he reached into his pocket and pulled out his wallet. Tucked inside one of the pockets was the note, folded in half. He had told himself he wasn't going to do it, but since his mind was already on the subject, he reached inside and grasped the piece of paper. He unfolded it and read it for about the 100th time. He had planned on preparing for the conversation over the next 6 days, but when Angela pulled her little stunt at the lab, that idea had gone out the window. He wasn't ready for this mainly because he didn't know what had prompted her to write the note and it was driving him crazy.

Booth sighed and read the note for the 103rd time before folding it and placing it back in his wallet, behind the picture of Parker in his tee-ball uniform. He looked at the picture for a few moments and smiled, silently kicking himself for having to miss his son's tee-ball game tomorrow. Parker understood; he was a good kid. Smiling, Booth moved to put his wallet back in his pocket when the woman's head of extremely unnatural red hair fell onto his shoulder, a loud snort emitting from her gaping mouth. Booth grimaced and attempted to gently lift her head back into the upright position. She chortled again, but Booth managed to move her head without waking her up.

He checked his watch. Only 30 minutes left. Booth had 30 minutes to try and figure out how exactly he was going to bring up the whole situation with Bones. Not an easy task, that was for sure. He wracked his brain for the millionth time since discovering the note when suddenly, it dawned on him. It was as clear as a summer day. His face broke out into a beaming (almost charm) smile and he knew EXACTLY what he was going to do.

CHAPTER 4

"So, I couldn't get an extra room because the entire hotel is booked. There's some golf tournament going on and a big car show or something. But they gave me the 'Governor's Suite' and the sofa makes into a bed," Brennan explained to Booth as they made their way to the short term parking, glancing tensely in his direction.

"Yeah, no problem, Bones. You and I have stayed in the same room before," Booth replied, nonchalantly.

"Yeah, but we had separate living quarters. We'll be sharing one bathroom," Brennan told him, slightly irritated at the thought.

"Yup, I got that," Booth replied.

Brennan shot him a quick confused glance. "So, you're okay with this then?" Brennan asked him as she stopped at a silver Altima.

"Yeah, why wouldn't I be?" Booth told his partner as he opened the trunk and threw his bag in. Safely behind the trunk, he couldn't help but smirk at Brennan's discomfort with the situation. He quickly changed his expression as he slammed the trunk shut. "So, this hotel is supposed to be the nicest in the city, huh?" Booth asked, a thrill in his voice.

"Yes, it's called The Phoenician. It's technically located in Scottsdale. It's gorgeous," Brennan replied as she got into the driver's seat.

"Fantastic! Can't wait to take a swim, hit the sauna, and maybe get a nice deep tissue massage," Booth said as he rubbed his hands together. He was now thoroughly enjoying the idea of vacationing in sunny Phoenix……even if it was 115 degrees. "Yeah? Sounds good, doesn't it?" he asked Brennan.

"I hadn't really thought about it. I'm sure the hotel has a spa," she replied in her "Brennan" way as she pulled out of the parking space only to barely miss a yellow Mustang swerving out of their way. "Imbecile!" Brennan yelled through the window as she slammed on her brakes.

"Imbecile, really, Bones? I would have just gone with idiot," Booth responded, waiting for the yellow Mustang to pass. As he watched it pull out, he noticed an oddly familiar head of flaming red hair. "Oh great," he said aloud.

"What?" Brennan asked.

"That was the lady who sat next to me on the plane. 5 hours of sounds I didn't even know a human being could make, Bones," Booth said, trying to duck away so she would not see him. She caught sight of him and waved, completely unaware of the fact that she had nearly left bright yellow paint on their bumper.

"Right, I forgot to ask. How WAS the flight?" Brennan asked, smirking at her partner's clear irritation.

"Yeah, that's really funny," Booth replied as he waved half-heartedly back at that head of hair. "So, where are we going for lunch? I'm starving."

"Booth, it's only 10 o'clock," Brennan informed him.

Booth looked at the clock in the car. "Right, time change. Well, it's 1 o'clock for me and that means lunch time. Know of a good place?" he asked.

"I found a pretty decent diner called '5 and Diner'. It's almost as good as the Royal Diner back home," Brennan replied, sounding animated at her achievement.

"Hey, as long as they have steak and eggs, I'm good," Booth replied, his stomach audibly grumbling as if on cue. Brennan shot him a look. "I haven't eaten in 5 hours, my stomach is mad at me."

"Booth, your stomach doesn't have emotions, it doesn't get mad. That sound is actually caused by digestive juices mixing with gas that causes your stomach to bloat and then it sends a signal to your brain letting you know that you need food," Brennan explained.

Booth slowly glanced over at his partner, his brow furrowed and a look of disgust on his face. "Are you serious?" he asked a second before realizing that he really shouldn't have.

"Yes, the digestive juices are very acidic and are quite similar to what Hodgins uses to clean bones-"

"Okay, Bones, I am officially not hungry anymore. Just drive to the hotel," Booth replied, grimacing at the thought of his stomach contents churning and somehow, he couldn't get the image of Hodgins' bugs out of his mind.

"You just said you were starving," Brennan inquired.

"Yeah, well that was before we got on the topic of gas and 'digestive juices'," Booth replied, using air quotes at the last part of his statement.

"I was just saying that people often mistake-"

"Bones," Booth looked at his partner with the same grimace and she finally looked over at him and immediately stopped talking.

The car was engulfed in silence as Brennan stared at the road ahead and Booth scowled and reached for his stomach, shifting uncomfortably in his seat.

CHAPTER 5

Brennan pulled into the drive of The Phoenician resort. Booth gawked out the window, his mouth half open as he looked up at the palm trees that towered overhead. A large stone sign in front read "The Phoenician" and there was a pond and a large fountain greeting them.

"Wow. This is nice!" Booth exclaimed, his smile matching his son's perfectly.

"You look like you just got your first puppy dog," Brennan said as she pulled up to the front of the resort.

"Hey, it's not every day you get to stay at a 5-star resort……for free!" Booth exclaimed again, grinning over at Brennan as he got out of the car. The valet handed him his bag from the trunk.

"It's free for you, but not for my publishing company," Brennan explained, getting out of the car and handing the keys to the valet.

"Come on, Bones, lighten up. Live a little! We should go take a dip in the pool! It's blazing hot and I'm ready to get out of these pants," Booth replied, prodding his partner as they walked through the large cherry wood doors.

Apparently, Brennan had missed his 'pants' comment. "We don't have time. You said you would help me with my interview and it's tomorrow at noon, so we have just over 24 hours," Brennan reminded him of why he was here. She sounded quite concerned, a lot more than she would have even a year ago.

"Why are you so worried, Bones? You didn't even care about the last one you did," Booth asked.

"Yeah, and look what happened with that," Brennan told him as they walked through the hotel lobby and towards the main courtyard.

"You really took Angela's comment hard, didn't you?" Booth asked her.

"Well, I don't want to come off as an antisocial moron," Brennan explained to him. "My agent says that I need to appear hip and cool if we want to sell more books."

"Hip and cool? Bones, you should just stick to the science," Booth said as they stepped out into the courtyard, which was absolutely stunning with palm trees, fountains, and lush greenery. "This is nice!" he exclaimed.

"You already said that. And you have to make me hip and cool and you don't have all day. I have a book signing at 3:00," Brennan replied, glancing at her watch.

"Come on, Bones, take a minute to stop and smell the roses!" Booth said, jumping in front of her and twirling her around so she could see the fountain to their left, which was adorned in flowers.

"Those are sunflowers, Booth," Brennan corrected him.

Booth's smile vanished and he stared at her in disbelief. "Okay, forget it. Where's the room?"

"It's just over here on the left, past the pool," Brennan replied.

"Ha! Our room is right by the pool? Nice!" Booth nearly jumped with excitement.

"Are you feeling okay?" Brennan asked him. "You seem a bit……overenthusiastic. Are you dehydrated? I know the heat can be stifling, so you should drink a lot of water," Brennan continued.

"Bones, Bones, Bones, Bones, Bones! Relax. I'm fine, I just want to unwind and you're ruining it for me by talking all serious about dehydration and digestive juices!" Booth nearly yelled at her, placing his hands on his hips in a defiant manner.

Brennan was slightly taken aback. She shifted her feet uneasily as they had both stopped walking. She looked at Booth and then quickly looked away, rolling her eyes. "Fine. I'm sorry. I guess I'm just nervous, or something. The room is right here," Brennan conceded as she walked past Booth and to the room door, placing the key card in and removing it quickly.

Booth's arms dropped and he sighed. He hadn't meant to get upset. All he wanted to do was loosen Brennan up a little bit so that he could approach the whole note subject a little more easily. But that didn't look like it was going to happen until after the interview. Oh well, I guess I can wait one more day Booth thought as he turned and followed Brennan in to the suite.

There was an entryway past the door and as soon as they walked through it, Booth was greeted with the most amazing view. Approximately 15 feet in front of him was a terrace and beyond the terrace was a large mountain made out of orange rock.

"Hey, this view is amazing! What's the name of that mountain?" Booth asked Brennan, trying to ease the mood a little.

"Camelback," Brennan replied quickly.

"Yeah, it kinda looks like a camel. Can you hike that thing?" Booth asked, a little overenthusiastically.

"If you want to in 115 degree weather, be my guest," Brennan responded, frostily.

"Look, Bones, I'm sorry I got upset with you, okay? I just want to have some fun. I'm happy to see you," Booth told her as he attempted to look into her lowered eyes. He pulled out his full-on charm smile.

Brennan looked up at him and pursed her lips, trying to keep from smiling.

"Huh? You happy to see me too?" Booth prodded her.

Brennan rolled her eyes and shook her head. "Yes, I suppose. Are you going to help me prepare or what?" she replied, walking past him and into the living room.

"Of course. But first thing's first," he said as he clapped his hands together, glad that he was now back on Bones' good side. He headed straight to the bar. "What'll it be, Bones? Vodka tonic?" he asked, reaching into the small fridge.

"It's 11 in the morning, Booth," Brennan protested.

"And your point would be what exactly?" He asked as he continued to unload the contents of the mini-bar.

Brennan smirked at him as she dropped into a chair.

Booth simply smirked back, silently going over his plan in his head.

CHAPTER 6

Booth stepped out of the large, marble shower and tied a towel around his hips, leaving his chest exposed. He stepped over to the mirror and wiped the steam off with another towel. He looked down at his watch, which was lying on the sink counter: 7:03. Bones should be back by now he thought. He had offered to take her to the book signing, knowing that she would say no……which she had. After briefing Bones on the newest pop culture from Britney Spears' breakdown to the latest Hollywood break-ups, she had set off for Border's books and he had headed straight for the pool. After a long dip in the pool, he had gone to the sauna for a steam, which was rather unbearable as it had only managed to cool down to 110 degrees. He then went back to the room to take a shower. He had expected Bones to be sitting in the living room when he got back around 6:30, but she wasn't there.

He grabbed his comb and started running it through his hair, singing "Born In The U.S.A." by Bruce Springsteen. He used his comb as a microphone, "Born in the U.S.A.! I was born in the U.S.A.! Yow!" Booth sang into his comb and brushed back his hair every few seconds. He pointed at himself in the mirror and spun around, singing "Born in the U.S.A.!" He moved his arms and hips all in one motion and as he did, his towel slipped off his waist. Just as he bent down to pick it up, he heard a familiar sound……the clearing of a throat.

He looked up to see Brennan standing in the doorway, covering her eyes with her hand. He grabbed the towel and quickly wrapped it around his hips.

"I was, uh, sorry," Brennan began to speak, not quite sure of what to say and unable to keep from laughing.

"What's so funny?" Booth asked.

"Nothing. I just heard singing and I thought I'd see what you were doing. I was not expecting to see……that," she replied, with her hand still covering her eyes.

"Yeah, well," Booth searched for words. He had probably looked like a complete idiot and now Bones had seen his, well, something he hadn't wanted her to see……at least not like that. Booth stood frozen in his spot, unable to move. "You know, you can take your hand away now."

She removed her hand from her eyes. Her breath caught in her throat as she beheld the sight in front of her. Her jaw nearly dropped open, but she managed to keep it from doing so. She was so used to seeing Booth in a suit. She had never seen Booth without a shirt on. She had seen him with his shirt open, but never……wow. He was definitely in great shape, his stomach sculpted and his chest toned. His arms were buff and, sexy? What are you thinking? Look away! she yelled to herself. Her eyes darted away and suddenly, she desperately wanted to get out of that bathroom.

"So, uh, what were you singing anyway?" she asked, glancing in the other direction.

"Born In The U.S.A. by The Boss," Booth replied, still frozen in his spot.

"The boss of what?" Brennan asked.

Booth's face fell. "The boss of what? Are you kidding me, Bones? THE BOSS?" he asked, eyes wide.

Brennan simply stared at him, her face contorted in confusion.

"The Boss……Bruce Springsteen?" Booth continued in disbelief.

"Oh, right. Didn't he sing that Jesse's Girl song?" Brennan replied, sounding proud of herself.

"That was Rick Springfield, Bones. Okay, it's time to continue Pop Culture 101," Booth replied as he brushed past Brennan and into the bedroom to throw a shirt on.

Brennan turned and watched him, somehow unable to tear her eyes away. What is wrong with you? she scolded herself.

"Would you mind turning around, Bones?" Booth asked as he saw her staring.

"Oh, right, sorry," she replied as she turned and looked back into the bathroom. She rolled her eyes and shook her head, sighing. That was just great

He watched her with her back turned as he continued to get dressed. Although he had been extremely embarrassed, he was also giddy. Witnessing Bones' vulnerability was always entertaining, seeing as how it didn't happen very often. Booth thought about how cute she was when that huge brain of hers wouldn't function properly. She had been so embarrassed and she had turned a bright shade of red, which she was most likely unaware of, he figured.

I turned red, didn't I? Brennan was now very worried and she reached up and touched her cheeks as she looked in the mirror. Yup, bright red. As she turned away from the mirror, Booth popped in front of her.

"Okay, all dressed. Ready to study?" Booth asked.

"Yeah, study……pop culture. Gotta be hip and cool. Right, let's get started," she replied, struggling with every word as she made her way out of the bathroom in a hurry.

Oh, this is going to be so much fun Booth thought as he followed closely behind her.

"Alright, so Anna Lynn Smith died in February of a drug overdose and she left a daughter named Danny Nicole who's father is radio 'shock jock' Howard Stern," Bones stated, raising her eyebrows and looking to Booth for confirmation.

Booth's face dropped and he closed his eyes. "This is useless," Booth gave up. "Why do you need to know this pop culture stuff anyway?"

"This TV host uses a lot of it in her show and I need to be up to date. Was that wrong? Or was it Danny Smith who was the father?" Bones pondered aloud.

"Okay, Bones, why don't we just get some sleep so you can be bright and fresh for the interview. Sound good?" Booth suggested as he stood from the chair he had been sitting in for the past 4 hours.

"No, Booth, I need to do this. Come on, just a little while longer," Bones insisted as she grabbed Booth's arm and pulled him back down onto the chair. She was sitting on the sofa, picking at what was left of her Greek salad. The living room was littered with plates, utensils, and miniature ketchup bottles from the room service they had ordered nearly 3 hours earlier.

"Fine. Moving on. What is the name of the hit reality show that features singers showing off-"

"American Idol!" Bones yelled as she nearly jumped off of the sofa.

"Good job, Bones. But now my eardrum is ruptured," Booth replied.

"Sorry. Continue," Bones instructed him, picking up a piece of feta cheese and popping it into her mouth.

"What is the name of the rude judge on American Idol?" Booth asked.

"Simon Abdul!" Bones declared, smiling.

Just when Booth's hopes were up, "No Bones, it's Simon Cowel and the girl is Paula Abdul."

"Well, you're giving me too much information all at once. All of the names are getting jumbled up in my head," Bones informed him.

"I thought your brain could handle anything. You are supposed to be a genius, right?" Booth teased her.

Brennan rolled her eyes. "Yeah, well, it's different with this stuff."

"Alright, moving on to Hollywood. What is the biggest grossing movie of this summer so far?" Booth asked.

"Oh, I know that! It's, um…shoot," Brennan struggled to think. Booth did not hurry her as he thought it was quite adorable. "Spiderman 3!"

"Correct! Fabulous! Now, what is the name of the actor who stars in the Spiderman movies?" Booth asked, leaning over to look at Brennan.

"Tobey…Tobey something. Uh, McGuire!" Brennan responded.

"Close enough, it's Maguire. And let's see, final question. Who is the Hollywood power couple that just adopted another baby?" Booth continued.

"Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie!" Brennan said, almost slipping off the couch.

"Correct again! Alright, Bones, I think you're ready," Booth informed her.

"Really? You don't think I'll look like an antisocial moron?" Brennan asked, still a little concerned.

"Stop thinking about what Angela said. You're going to do just fine. And you know, technically you could never be considered a moron, with your IQ being over 175 and all," Booth told her, remembering exactly what Zack had said back at the lab.

"184 to be exact," Brennan responded, not at all modest. "And that's a good point. Why didn't I think of that?" Brennan genuinely wondered.

"Well, Bones, you ready to go to bed?" Booth asked, glancing at the clock. 1:55.

Brennan hesitated for a moment, her mind stuck on the word "bed."

"You have to get up so I can make my bed," Booth told her, pointing at the couch.

"Right, your bed," she replied, slightly emphasizing "your." "The extra sheets are in that cabinet right there," Brennan said, pointing above the sofa. "Do you want some help?"

"Naw, I'm good," Booth replied.

"Okay, then, good night," Brennan said to Booth as she got up and headed for the bedroom.

"Good night, Bones," he replied. The two of them stood there for a few moments before Brennan smiled and retreated into the bedroom, closing the door behind her.

Booth stood up, stretched, and began throwing the pillows off of the sofa. He moved the table to the center of the room and pulled out the bed. He found the sheets in the cabinet and threw them carelessly across the bed. He checked the cabinet for a pillow and saw that there wasn't one. Crap he thought. He'd have to go ask Bones for a pillow. He walked the few feet to the door and knocked quietly.

"Bones?" he asked when there was no answer. He cracked the door and peered in. The door to the bathroom was shut. He tiptoed into the room and to the side that was not turned down and reached for the extra pillow.

The bathroom door opened and Brennan stepped out, letting out a scream as she saw Booth's figure hovering over her bed. He reacted and looked at her...her face was bright green. He screamed in return.

"Booth! What in the hell are you doing?" Brennan asked, tying her blue robe even tighter around her.

"I, just, uh, needed a pillow. I knocked, but," Booth stuttered, beginning to tiptoe back toward the bedroom door. He scrunched up his face at the sight of her. "I think you've got a little something on your face, right there," he said as he looked closely at her and pointed his finger.

She slapped his finger out of the way. "Go to bed!" she said, wide-eyed and jaw clenched.

Booth chuckled and tried again to touch her face.

"Quit it!" she replied, smacking his hand yet again.

"I just wanted to feel it. What is that stuff?" He said, scrunching his face even tighter.

"It's a clarifying mask that replenishes…oh nevermind. Will you just go to bed?" Brennan said, exasperated.

"Alright, alright," he said, smiling as he walked back out of the bedroom.

Brennan stood in the doorway. "Remember, we have to leave by 10:45."

"Yes maam," Booth replied in a southern accent.

Brennan smirked, "Good night, Booth."

"Nighty night, Bones," he replied as he watched her shut the door.

He smiled to himself. He would be getting up WAY before 10:45.

CHAPTER 7

"Come on, Booth, we're going to be late," Brennan announced, glancing at her watch (10:52) and pacing the living room floor. "I'm supposed to be there at 11:15."

"I'm coming!" Booth responded as he stashed a hanging bag marked "Saks Fifth Avenue" into the bedroom closet. He shut the closet door and appeared in the living room. "Alright, I'm ready."

"Okay, then let's go," Brennan replied, grabbing the car keys and heading for the door.

"Alright, hold your horses, Bones," he said as he followed her out the door.

"I don't know what that means, but I know that we're late," Brennan said, quickening her step.

Booth jogged a few steps to catch up with her. "Hey, who was the one who stayed up with you til 2 reviewing movie stars and reality TV?" he said, defensively. "A little gratitude would be nice."

"I AM grateful, I'll just be a lot more grateful once the interview is over," Brennan responded.

They reached the main lobby and Booth opened the door for his partner. As they walked through the doors, Brennan bumped into a woman.

"Oh dear, I'm so sorry!" the red-headed woman apologized.

"It's alright," Brennan replied, trying to hurry on.

Booth's eyes grew large all of a sudden as he saw exactly who had issued the apology. There was no time to try to avoid it. The woman's face broke out in to a bright smile.

"Well, I'll be! If it isn't the handsome insurance salesman from the plane!" she exclaimed.

Brennan gave Booth a very quizzical look and he glanced back at her.

"Wendy, how nice to see you," Booth replied, grasping onto Brennan's shoulder and attempting to maneuver her towards the front door.

"Are you staying here? What a small world! Is this your girlfriend?" "Wendy" asked Booth and a second after the question was out of her mouth, her jaw dropped and she let out a squeal.

Both Booth and Brennan squeezed their eyes shut and squished their faces in response to the non-human sound they had both just heard.

"You're Dr. Temperance Brennan! Oh my goodness gracious! I can't even believe this! I have read all of your books over and over and I'm your number one fan! Oh my, I wish I had one of my books with me for you to sign. What room are you in? If you could sign it later, that would be wonderful!" Wendy gushed.

Brennan leaned back when Wendy spoke so as not to damage her eardrums. "That's very nice of you?" Brennan replied in the form of a question. Wendy held out her hand and Brennan took it gingerly.

"It's an honor to meet you, Dr. Brennan. Wait a second……you must be the FBI Agent! Insurance salesman, nice try," Wendy said, grinning.

"Yeah, I like to keep a low profile. I'm sorry, Wendy, but we're actually running late for Dr. Brennan's television interview," Booth said hurriedly.

"Oh, I'm so sorry! I wouldn't want to keep you from that. I'll be sure to watch it! Good luck!" Wendy told Brennan.

"Thanks. Nice to meet you," Brennan responded as Booth pushed her towards the door.

"You too, dear!" Wendy called after her.

CHAPTER 8

"Welcome back to Sydney Stevens Live! We are here with best-selling author and forensic anthropologist, Dr. Temperance Brennan. Her latest book, "Blood, Flesh, and Bone" has just hit #2 on the New York Times bestseller list! Thank you so much for being with us, Dr. Brennan," Sydney Stevens turned from the camera to Brennan and flashed a very cheery and extremely fake smile.

Brennan glanced over at Booth, who was standing just off to the side. He placed his index fingers at the corners of his mouth and pulled the corners upward, whispering, "smile."

Brennan plastered on perhaps the biggest smile she had ever been able to muster and replied, "Thank you, Sydney. It's great to be here!" a little too overenthusiastically.

"Oh God, she looks like the Joker from Batman," Cam said as she grabbed a Diet Coke and munched on the popcorn sitting on the desk in Brennan's office.

"She told me they stayed up until 2, you know, reviewing," Angela replied mischievously, glancing over at Cam, who shifted uncomfortably in her seat and pursed her lips, but did not respond.

"So, tell us, Dr. Brennan. How do you deal with such horrors in your life all the time? I mean, skulls and death and murder and rotting corpses. Don't you ever just have a nervous breakdown?" Sydney Stevens continued, sounding extremely interested now.

"Well, I've never had a breakdown anywhere near the magnitude of Britney Spears," Brennan replied, laughing slightly, extremely proud of herself for remembering what Booth had taught her.

Booth stared at her, even though she couldn't see him, and just shook his head in disbelief. She wasn't even being herself.

"Did she really just make a joke about Britney Spears?" Cam asked.

"Yes, I'm afraid she did," Hodgins replied.

"Oh, Bren, come on sweetie, you can do this," Angela spoke to the television screen, trying to telepathically tell Brennan what to do.

"You know, Angela, you should really have been the one to go out there and help her," Cam informed her. Being completely unaware of Angela's plan, Cam would say something like that. Actually, Cam would say that no matter what.

"Oh no, trust me, the two of them needed some time alone," Angela replied, glancing over once again at Cam.

"I thought it was because you wanted to stay here with me?" Hodgins asked, smiling gloriously at Angela.

"Right, you can think whatever you want, honey," Angela replied, patting him on the shoulder.

"Yes, I truly enjoy my work. But I always take time to catch up on all the great movies that are out. I always have time to see the big blockbusters. Spiderman 3 was really good. That Tobey McGuire is quite good looking," Brennan continued, almost robotically, a big smile on her face that was SO not Brennan.

Booth almost had to shield his head in his hands. You're not supposed to just list everything we went over, Bones! he thought to himself.

"Right, well…" Sydney Stevens raised her eyebrows, not knowing quite what to say. She put her hand to her ear and continued, "Well, ladies and gentlemen, I have just received word that the real life inspiration for FBI Special Agent Andy Lister is right here in this studio!"

"What? Uh, no, not really-" Brennan attempted to protest.

Booth glanced around nervously, completely and totally in shock. Two men came up to him and asked him to come out on stage.

"Here he is, our own Agent Lister in the flesh, so to speak!" Sydney Stevens announced as she stood up to welcome Booth on to the stage.

The stage hands had to practically push him on stage, but he managed a quick smile and waved to the audience.

Angela spat her Diet Coke all over Brennan's office table.

"Agent Lister……I'm sorry, what is your real name?" Sydney Stevens asked Booth.

Booth took a seat next to Brennan. "I think I'll remain anonymous for now," he replied through nearly clenched teeth.

"I'm sure the fans want all of the dirty details. So, let's get right to it. Tell us, are the two of you secret lovers?" Sydney Stevens addressed the two deer caught in the headlights.

Angela's eyes were glued to the screen, her mouth agape, as Hodgins attempted to mop up the Diet Coke.

"No, uh-uh," Booth replied quickly.

"Absolutely not!" Brennan also said a little too hastily. "We're just partners," Brennan added, as if it would help the situation.

The two of them did not make eye contact of any sort. Brennan pursed her lips and entirely forgot about the smile that had been plastered to her face. Booth placed his arms on his knees and twiddled his thumbs.

"Right," Sydney Stevens said with a smug smile. "I'm sure the male fans out there will be happy to know that, Dr. Brennan. Remember, Dr. Brennan's book, 'Blood, Flesh, and Bone' is available in stores right now. Thank you for being with us, Dr. Brennan. And you too, Agent Anonymous."

Booth and Brennan each smiled weakly and they both looked as though someone had just punched them in the stomachs.

"We'll be right back with pet expert, Larry Grayson! You're watching Sydney Stevens Live," Sydney Stevens said to the camera.

"And we're out," a cameraman announced.

Sydney Stevens immediately stood up to shake hands, "Thanks again. And you were superb, Agent Anonymous," she said and whisked away to have her make-up refreshed.

"Oh……my……God," was all Angela could manage to spit out of her wide open mouth.

"Do you think Booth planned that?" Hodgins asked, in full conspiracy theorist mode.

"Did you see the look on his face? There's no way he planned that. I would give him big props if he actually had, though," Angela finally managed to say.

"Well, that was a complete waste of 15 minutes. I think I'll get back to my dead body," Cam announced as she smiled and marched out of the office.

"What's her problem?" Zack asked genuinely.

"Oh, nothing," Angela replied, watching Cam leave, a playful smile curling her lips. "Now, I have got to go call Brennan."

"Did you plan that?" Brennan laid into Booth as soon as they got off the TV set.

"No! Why would you think that? You heard Sydney Stevens, I'm Agent Anonymous!" Booth replied, defensively.

"Yeah, well, you could have planned that part, too!" Brennan shot back, folding her arms and glaring at him.

"Bones, think about it. Why would I do that? She asked us about our relationship, why would I want that information out there?" Booth asked his partner. "How could either one of us possibly benefit from what just happened?"

"I…I don't know," Brennan hesitated. "Maybe you wanted some recognition," Brennan replied as they got into the car.

"Look, Bones, I would never purposely embarrass you, okay? And I would never want to steal your thunder," Booth said as he placed his hand on her shoulder.

"Yeah, I know," Brennan sighed. "Wait, steal my what?" Brennan added.

"Nevermind, Bones," Booth replied.

"Why is everyone always wondering if my 'real-life' FBI agent is my boyfriend? I had 15 people ask me that at the book signing yesterday," Brennan asked, irritatingly.

"You know, Wendy said that the way you describe me makes it seem like we're more than just partners," Booth said, glancing upwards and making sure not to look Brennan directly in the eyes.

"Who? That crazy lady from the plane? Booth, you've got to be kidding me. And Andy Lister is not you!" Brennan replied, throwing her hands in the air.

"I'm just saying, that's what some of the readers think. I didn't say it was true, because, well, it's not. It's just the way you write it makes it come across that way…apparently," Booth countered, smiling to himself as he spoke the words.

"Well, I didn't intend for it to come across like that. Maybe I'm not as good of a writer as I thought," Brennan replied.

Oh, you're a much better writer than you think Booth thought, smirking.

"What are you sneering at?" Brennan asked him.

Booth's smirk was broken. "Nothing. Nothing at all," he replied.

"Was I bad? I talked about all the stuff we went over and everything," Brennan inquired, nervousness in her voice.

"You weren't bad, Bones," Booth said with a slight hesitation.

"But I wasn't good, either. Your voice quivered," she replied.

"It did not-"

"Yes, it did! I was that bad? I mean seriously, Booth. We stayed up all night preparing me for this and still-"

"Bones, hey," Booth put his hands on her shoulders and forced her to look at him. "You weren't bad. You improved greatly over your last one and that's a big step, right?" he was trying to cheer her up.

Brennan's bottom lip stuck out ever so slightly. She looked like a little kid who had just dropped her ice cream cone and Booth couldn't help but smile. Man, she's cute when she's angry

She stared into his eyes for a while before speaking. He had such soft, tender, eyes. It's like they could see right into her. Her eyelashes fluttered, "Yeah, I guess it's not the end of the world," she finally replied.

"Hey, I taught you that one, didn't I?" Booth was quite pleased that she had actually used an expression properly.

"I only learn from the best," Brennan responded as she put the car into drive. "Now, how about some lunch? Steak and eggs sound good?" she asked Booth.

"Sounds perfect," he replied and removed his arms from her shoulders. She was completely unaware of the night he had in store for her…and he couldn't help but think about how brilliant he truly was.

"That was the best thing I have EVER seen on TV," Angela exclaimed into her cell phone.

"It was horrible, Ang," Brennan replied, looking back over at Booth who was still sitting at the table, eating.

"It was absolutely adorable is what it was," Angela shot back.

"Ang! It was completely uncalled for what that woman did to us," Brennan said, lowering her voice after several people turned to look at her.

"So, how's Phoenix? It's really hot, isn't it? Gotten any hotter since Booth has been there?" Angela asked, unable to contain her beaming smile.

"Ang, come on. There is nothing going on between us and you know that," Brennan said after rolling her eyes.

"Okay, sweetie, but I better be the first to know if anything does happen," Angela responded.

"Ang!" Brennan exclaimed.

"I'll talk to you later," Angela said, knowing full well that her friend was just denying the inevitable.

"Why don't you get back to work instead of trying to fix me up with Booth?!" Brennan insisted, laughing at the same time. Angela really was relentless.

"Yeah, yeah. Bye, sweetie," Angela said and flipped her phone shut. "Booth and Brennan alone in the hot summer sun. Ah, I'm so brilliant," Angela complimented herself.

CHAPTER 9

"That was some good steak and eggs," Booth said as he stretched and patted his stomach, yawning. "Did you enjoy your pancakes?"

"Yes, they were great. And you're right, the chocolate chip and whipped cream smiley face did make it better," Brennan said, smiling.

"It always works for Parker," Booth replied, grinning at his partner.

Brennan stuck the key in the slot and removed it quickly, turning the handle. As they stepped inside, Brennan's foot hit an envelope lying on the floor.

"What's that?" she asked as Booth reached down and picked it up.

Booth opened the envelope and pulled out a card. He read it without speaking, which seemed to irritate Brennan quite a bit.

"Booth, let me see," she whined, trying to lean over his shoulder.

Booth's facial expression was one of both confusion and excitement. He began to read it aloud. "This is your confirmation for your couples massage appointment for today: Friday, June 22, 2007 at 4:00pm at The Phoenician Spa."

"Our what?" Brennan asked, grabbing the paper out of Booth's hands. "Couples massage? Booth!"

"What? I have no idea where this came from!" Booth replied. An instant later, the realization hit him. "Ah."

"What? 'Ah' what?" Brennan insisted.

"Wendy," Booth said.

"The crazy lady from the plane?" Brennan inquired.

"She saw us earlier and thought we were a couple and she probably scheduled a massage for us," Booth replied matter-of-factly and continued through the entryway and into the living room, flopping down on his unmade bed that was the sofa.

"Well, we are NOT a couple, so we shouldn't be having a couples' massage. And who does something like that? I think she's a little, what do you say, wacko?" Brennan expressed as she followed Booth into the living room.

Booth shook his head. "Sure, wacko, whatever Bones. Do you know how much this thing probably costs? It's actually kinda sweet," Booth was beginning to sympathize with the red-haired crazy lady.

"But we're not a couple!" Brennan reminded him.

"Well yes, I realize that. That doesn't mean we can't take advantage of the opportunity, right?" Booth replied, a playful smile on his face.

Brennan continued staring at him in disbelief, her eyebrows raised. Obviously, she was not going to be able to reason with him. "What do they do in a couples massage, anyway?"

"The same thing they do in a regular massage, only your 'partner' is lying on a table next to you," he explained.

"What's the point of that?" Brennan asked, confused.

"It's so you can spend quality time with your partner, Bones," he responded, emphasizing "partner" yet again.

"Wouldn't that be weird?" Brennan asked, shifting her jaw from one side to the other.

"Nah, Bones. Come on, remember what I said about loosening up? Now that your interview is over, let's relax. It'll be fun," Booth said, absolutely thrilled that this Wendy lady had booked them a couples massage. I should have thought of that he thought.

"Well, we don't have much time, it's already 3:15," Brennan replied, giving in to the idea. It couldn't be all that bad she thought.

"That's my Bones!" Booth said and jumped up off of the couch.

Brennan rolled her eyes and smiled at the same time. "I'm not yours, Booth," she replied and walked past him and into the bedroom.

Oh, but you might be after tonight Booth thought as a soft smile spread across his face.

CHAPTER 10

"I'm sorry, we have to do what?" Brennan asked, her eyes wide, not quite sure she had heard correctly.

"You will get undressed and place your clothes in these lockers here and lie down on your stomachs right over here on the tables," the massage therapist replied. "I will be back with the other therapist in 10 minutes."

"I am not-" Brennan began to protest.

"Thank you so much, Mandy," Booth cut in and smiled at the young woman, who left the room, shutting the door behind her.

"Booth! Did you know we would have to take our clothes off?!" Brennan asked him, astounded. By the look on his face, she could definitely tell that he knew full well that they would indeed have to take their clothes off. "I cannot believe you!"

Booth couldn't help but laugh. She threw a towel at him. "Aw, come on, Bones. I'll turn around and you can lie face down on the table and then it'll be my turn. Deal?" Booth offered.

Brennan was clearly not pleased, but she figured there was no getting out of this seeing as how some crazy lady had paid for it and she would feel bad if she didn't do it. With her lips and jaw clenched, she finally responded, "Fine. But you don't turn back around until I tell you to!" she demanded, pointing her index finger at Booth.

"Fine, fine," Booth replied, holding his hands in the air and turning around. "You know, technically it wouldn't matter if you watched me strip since you've already, you know," Booth added, shrugging.

"Booth!" Brennan yelled at him.

"Okay, sorry, over the line, I know. I'll be a good boy," Booth said, smiling with his eyes closed, his back still turned to her.

Brennan sighed loudly, watching him extremely closely as she quickly got undressed and nearly knocked the table over trying to position herself under the towel and on her stomach with her face in the face pillow. Booth stood there like a good boy. "Okay, my face is firmly planted in this weird pillow thing," Brennan informed him.

"Alrighty," Booth replied as he started undressing.

Brennan shifted on the table, trying to get her face in just the right position, but somehow, this was taking a great deal of effort. "How long is this massage again?" she asked him.

"80 minutes of sheer bliss," Booth answered. She could hear him putting his clothes in the locker and part of her had an urge to look over at him. Bones, stop it! she scolded. Did I just call myself Bones? she added to her thought.

Booth was about to take off his boxers as he turned toward the tables. His breath caught as he looked over at her. Her back was exposed, the towel having just covered the bottom half of her body. Her silky brown hair parted to both sides and he could see her neck. He couldn't help but stand and stare at her, mesmerized by the beauty of her back and her structure.

"Booth?" she asked.

"Uh, yeah," Booth snapped out of his reverie and finished getting ready. "I'm ready."

She could hear the table squeak as he positioned himself under the towel and lied face down in the pillow. Suddenly, Brennan's heart started beating faster and she felt a pit in her stomach. She was nervous. But why? Bones, calm down. Agh! Stop calling yourself Bones! Brennan thought.

"How you doin', Bones?" Booth asked.

"Fine. Perfect," she replied quickly. "I can't believe I'm doing this."

"Just calm down. This is supposed to be relaxing," Booth told her.

"It hasn't even started yet," Brennan informed him.

"Are you two ready?" Mandy asked, popping her head in.

"Yeah, ready," Booth replied.

"Alright, just let yourselves go and completely relax. I'm going to put on some music and light a few candles. Just lose yourself as Danny begins Dr. Brennan's massage," Mandy said, her voice ever so soothing.

Brennan took a deep breath and let it out slowly as Danny began at the base of her neck. Wow, that feels good And with that, Brennan was hooked. She was putty in the massage therapist's hands and she didn't move a muscle for the next 79 minutes.

"Wow, that was amazing. I'm completely relaxed. I don't even want to move," Brennan said as she sank into one of the chairs in the living room.

"Told ya you'd like it," Booth said as he collapsed onto his still unmade bed, stretching out his arms and legs.

"That Danny had amazing fingers," Brennan said, happily remembering back to each and every touch.

Booth did not like this comment, so he decided that now was the perfect time to tell her. "You know what, Bones, this might have actually been a nice lead-in to the fabulous night I have planned for us," Booth announced out of the clear blue, sitting up on the bed.

"What are you talking about?" Brennan asked, becoming slightly more alert.

"Well, Bones, I thought that since you survived Sydney Stevens," Booth continued and stood up, walking towards Brennan. Brennan rolled her eyes, "we need to celebrate. So, I made dinner reservations at one of The Phoenician's finest restaurants. It overlooks the entire resort," Booth informed his partner.

Brennan couldn't speak for a moment. Booth had done what? "Booth, I didn't bring anything nice enough to wear to a fancy restaurant," Brennan explained.

"Not a problem," Booth said, pointing his finger at Brennan as he practically skipped off into the bedroom. He returned a few seconds later with a hanging bag.

"Booth, what is that?" Brennan asked, rising up out of the chair.

"Just unzip it and see what you think," Booth responded, smiling sweetly at her.

Brennan glanced warily at him as she stepped toward him and took the bag, laying it on the sofa-bed. She unzipped it and took out what was held inside. Her blue eyes widened and her jaw dropped.

She held up the dress. It was a deep aqua blue and had pleated straps. It looked like it was half-length. She wouldn't be able to tell until she tried it on.

"Booth……I-I don't know what to say," she looked over at him in utter amazement.

"Well, you need the shoes to get the whole picture," he said, pointing at the bag.

She reached in and pulled out a pair of matching high heels. "Booth," she repeated.

His heart was doing somersaults, the butterflies flying around in his stomach. "Well, you don't have much time. Our reservations are at 7:30 and it is now 5:57. Think you can get ready in an hour and a half?" Booth was so thrilled, he couldn't even believe it. The look on her face had been priceless. He wouldn't trade it in for anything in the world.

"Uh, yeah. You want to take the first shower? I'll be needing the bathroom for a while to get ready," Brennan responded, still holding the dress in the air.

"Sure. I'll be quick, I promise," Booth said as he headed toward the bedroom.

"Booth," Brennan added and he stopped in the doorway. "Thank you…for helping me with the interview and for the dress. It's absolutely gorgeous," Brennan told Booth from the bottom of her heart.

"Not as gorgeous as it'll be when you get it on," Booth replied without even thinking. It was so instinctual that he just came out and said it.

Brennan blushed, turning her head slightly to the side. The silence that ensued was deafening and Booth stared at her, smiling.

"Quick shower, promise," Booth broke the quiet and disappeared into the bedroom.

CHAPTER 11

Brennan had managed to zip herself into the dress without Booth's assistance, which she was happy about. She glanced at the clock in the bathroom…7:12. She had put her foundation on and had now moved onto her eye makeup. She was used to Angela doing all of her makeup. She was always so good at fixing her up and Brennan was afraid she couldn't match Ang's handiwork. She added her mascara, her hand twitching slightly as she swiped her eyelashes. She wasn't very used to mascara. She checked herself in the mirror and searched for earrings. She settled for a pair of dangly blue beaded earrings she had gotten in Nicaragua. She brushed her "pink diamond" lipstick on her lips and smacked them together. Then she added a shimmery gloss. The final step was her perfume. She dabbed a few drops onto her neck and wrists. She looked back at the clock…7:17. Perfect timing. She began to gather the things she needed, lipstick, lip gloss and she realized she didn't have an evening bag to put everything in. As if he were psychic, Booth's arm poked through the crack of the bathroom door.

"I thought you might need this," he said, holding up an aqua blue beaded evening bag.

"Thanks," she replied, astounded, and she took it from his hand.

"You almost ready?" he asked from the other side of the door.

"Yeah, be out in a minute," Brennan replied.

"Okay," Booth responded and headed back into the living room. He opened his wallet and took out the piece of paper. He read it again to himself:

"Booth: You were the only thing in my life that ever made sense. Thank you for always being there for me. I love you. Temperance."

He smiled as he read the 25 simple words for the 141st time. Here goes nothing

"What do you think?" Brennan interrupted Booth's thoughts and he jumped at the sound of her voice, quickly shoving the note and his wallet into his pants pocket.

He looked over at her and he was speechless. He just stood there, gazing at her. The aqua blue dress fit her perfectly. It was tight-fitting and framed every curve of her body perfectly. The dress fell just above her knees and the pleated straps just covered her shoulders. She had curled her hair and was wearing part of it up in a clip. She was absolutely breathtaking.

You could hear a pin drop as Booth stood there, nearly gawking at the image in front of him.

"Booth?" Brennan finally said.

"Wow. You look…" he hesitated for a moment, pondering whether or not he should say what was really on his mind. He decided to go with it, "You look absolutely amazing, Temperance."

Brennan blushed and looked down at her feet. "Thank you…Shoes. Can't forget shoes," she said and walked toward the chair where the shoes were lying. She looked over and noticed that he was wearing an aqua colored tie.

"Oh, and we can't forget the finishing touch," Booth said, walking to the table and pulling out an oblong box.

"Booth, what did you do?" she asked him, wondering what else he could possibly have in store.

"Not much. Just got you a little something to go with the dress," Booth replied.

"You got me an entire outfit, Booth," Brennan told him.

"Yeah well, this is the really fun part of the outfit," he replied as he opened the box to reveal a diamond and blue topaz necklace. The necklace was white gold with diamonds and a dazzling blue topaz stone dangled from the end of the necklace.

Brennan could not even believe her eyes. Her jaw dropped for the second time that night and she was overwhelmed. "Booth, this is too-too much," she stammered. "Why are you doing all this?" she asked him.

"You don't like the necklace?" Booth asked, ignoring her question.

"Booth, it's absolutely stunning. But I don't understand why, or wait…when did you have time to do all of this?" It suddenly dawned on her that he had been with her all day. Unless he planned this ahead of time…no, it couldn't be.

"I pulled some strings down at Saks," Booth said with a smirk. "I just thought someone should spoil you," he said, speaking the ultimate truth. She really deserved so much more than he could even say. She deserved the world. Booth continued to smile at her and she returned the smile with ease. "Now, can I put this on you so we aren't late for dinner?" he finally said.

Brennan paused, then smiled and turned around, pulling her hair up and out of the way of her neck. Booth began to clasp the necklace, brushing the back of her neck. His touch sent chills up her spine and instantly, goosebumps appeared on her neck. She had butterflies and she closed her eyes as Booth attempted to get the clasp to work.

He noticed the goosebumps and smiled as he took a few extra seconds to get the necklace on. "Alright, all done."

Brennan dropped her hair and stepped away to put her shoes on. He watched her for a second and then walked past her, ready to open the door and head to dinner.

She joined him at the door and he offered her his arm.

"Shall we, me lady?" he asked in a British accent.

She took his arm and smiled. "Yes, but don't try that accent ever again," she replied, still in joyful disbelief.

CHAPTER 12

The restaurant, "Mary Elaine's" was located on the second floor of the main building. The ceiling was quite high and a large chandelier hung from the middle of the room with tables scattered throughout. In the middle, under the chandelier, was a dance floor. A small band was setting up for a night of music. Booth and Brennan were escorted to their table, which was right next to the window and close to the dance floor. The sun was beginning to set and the sky was filled with hues of pink and yellow and blue.

The Maitre d' pulled out Brennan's chair for her and she sat as he slid the chair in. (Booth was quite perturbed that the host had beaten him to it). The Maitre d' took the napkin from the table and placed it in Brennan's lap.

"Thank you," she told him.

"Of course, madam," he responded. "Your server will be right with you," he said as he walked off.

Brennan's eyes were mesmerized by the view they beheld. This was absolutely wonderful and Booth had done it all. She didn't know why and she couldn't even believe it, but she knew she liked it.

"What do you think so far?" Booth asked, very aware that Brennan was in awe.

"This view is amazing, Booth. The sunset is brilliant," Brennan responded, still looking out the window.

"I had hoped you'd like it," Booth told her. She turned her head and her attention to Booth.

"Well, you were right," she said.

Booth had not been able to tear his eyes away from Brennan. She was always a beautiful woman, well-structured, but seeing her like this was remarkable. He wanted nothing more than to gaze at her for the rest of his life.

"Welcome to Mary Elaine's. I am your server, Antoine. Masseur Booth, the bottle of Dom Perignon is on its way. Mademoiselle, would you like a cocktail?" Antoine shifted his attention to Brennan.

Brennan was speechless from the "Dom Perignon" comment and she took a moment to reply. "No, but I would like a glass of Merlot. Do you have Marilyn?," Brennan asked the waiter.

"Yes, of course. And for you, Masseur Booth?" Antoine asked.

"Actually, I think we will do a bottle of Merlot," Booth replied and smiled at Brennan.

"Very well, sir. Walter will be right over with the menus," Antoine said, bowing his head slightly before leaving.

"Dom Perignon? Booth, you shouldn't have-" Brennan began. Even she knew that Dom Perignon was the most expensive kind of champagne available.

"We're celebrating, remember," Booth told her just as the champagne arrived. The server placed a silver ice bucket next to the table and proceeded to twist the metal off of the cork. He opened it with ease and placed two champagne glasses on the table. He took Brennan's first and filled it ever so elegantly. He did the same with Booth's. He returned the bottle to the bucket of ice and said, "Enjoy," before walking off.

"What shall we toast to?" Booth asked.

"How about we each have a different toast?" Brennan replied.

"Alright. Here's to Dr. Temperance Brennan and her wonderful success as an author and absolutely brilliant forensic anthropologist," Booth said as he raised his glass in the air and clinked it with Brennan's. They each took a sip.

"Why thank you. And here's to FBI Special Agent Seeley Booth for helping to make Dr. Temperance Brennan such a success," Brennan said, looking at Booth intensely. They clinked glasses and took another sip.

"Why do you say that?" Booth asked, extremely interested.

"Well, you know, Special Agent Andy Lister is probably the most popular character and I guess I would have to thank the real-life inspiration for that," Brennan informed him, glancing down at her glass of champagne.

"Ha! I knew it!" Booth said, triumphantly.

"He is only loosely based on you," she defended.

"Right, of course," Booth replied, nodding his head. Brennan just snickered.

"Mademoiselle, Masseur, your menus," Walter appeared at the table and handed each of them a menu. "Enjoy."

"What looks good, Bones?" Booth asked Brennan as he opened his own menu.

Brennan glanced at the selection, her mouth watering over the dishes.

"Everything looks good," Brennan said, not looking away from the menu.

Antoine appeared a moment later. "A bottle of Marilyn Merlot for the beautiful Mademosielle and the Masseur," he said as he showed the bottle to Booth. Booth nodded. He proceeded to open the bottle and he poured Booth a taste. Booth swirled the wine around in the glass and smelled it before taking a small sip.

"Yes, I think this will be fine," Booth told Antoine. Brennan watched his every move from the nodding to the sniffing. She couldn't help but smile. He really was cute when he tried so hard she thought.

"Very good, sir," Antoine replied and poured each of them a glass. "Are you ready to order?" he asked.

"Are you ready, Temperance?" Booth asked his partner.

"Yes, I believe so. I will start with the Garganelli pasta. And for my entrée, I will have the steamed black sea bass," Brennan replied as she handed the menu to Antoine.

"Very well, Mademoiselle. And for the Masseur?" Antoine replied.

"Yes, I'll have the grilled octopus salad and the buffalo tenderloin," Booth replied.

"Thank you," Antoine said and walked away.

"Octopus? You?" Brennan was thoroughly surprised.

"Yeah, I thought I'd try something new, you know, take a walk on the wild side," Booth replied, taking a sip of his Marilyn Merlot.

"You have a wild side?" Brennan teased.

"Ha, very funny," Booth smirked back at her. The band began to play.

They sat and conversed about random things for the next 15 minutes or so. Booth was thoroughly enjoying being with Brennan in this atmosphere. She looked like a million dollars and he was beaming from the inside out. I'm the luckiest guy in the world

Antoine returned shortly with their starter courses. Booth's salad looked like it was still alive, except that it wasn't moving.

He grimaced at the sight of it.

"Still glad you took that walk on the wild side?" Brennan taunted him.

He looked over at her, still frowning, as he grabbed his fork and poked at the eight-legged "cephalopod" in front of him (Bones had taught him that one). Brennan could not keep from laughing as she dug into her pasta. Booth looked miserable.

"Do you want a bite of mine?" Brennan asked after a few moments.

"Yeah, could I, please?" he replied, the expression on his face unchanged.

Brennan took her bread plate and gave him some pasta.

"Thanks, Bones," he said as he started to eat.

They ate in silence for a few moments. Booth looked at Brennan, picking just the right time to begin the next phase of his plan.

"Wow, look at that sunset now," Booth said.

Brennan turned her head and gazed out the window. As her head was turned, Booth glanced over at one of the band members, who instantly made eye contact with him. Booth nodded his head and the man nodded back.

Brennan turned back and Booth smiled.

The band began to play "It Had To Be You."

"Oh, this is a great song!" Booth exclaimed. "It had to be you, you, you, you, you," he sang.

Brennan laughed. "Don't embarrass yourself," she snickered at him.

"Come on, Bones, I could never do THAT," Booth replied.

She rolled her eyes.

Booth got up from his chair and placed his napkin on the table.

"Where are you going?" Brennan asked, confused.

Booth took two steps toward Brennan and held out his hand. "Would you like to dance, Temperance?" he asked his partner, smiling.

Brennan was stunned. "Uh, I'm not a very good dancer, Booth," she replied nervously.

"I already know that's not true. Plus, a girl never turns down a dance invitation," Booth said, his hand remaining out in front of him.

Brennan looked up at him. He looked so handsome in his aqua tie and his smile was impossible to refuse.

Brennan sighed. "Alright," she said as she took his hand.

Booth led her out to the dance floor, grasping her hand tightly in his. He placed his right hand on her waist and took her right hand in his left, pulling her close to him. He could smell her perfume and it flooded his senses. She smelled beautiful…she WAS beautiful. He looked into her eyes as they danced to "It Had To Be You." He smiled at her and she returned the smile, but the gaze was broken as she glanced down at her feet.

"See, you're a great dancer," Booth told her. He paused a moment and added, "Just stop leading."

"Sorry," Brennan apologized.

"Remember when we danced in that small town in Washington?" Booth asked her.

"At that horrible bar with all of those guys asking me about cannibalism? Of course, I remember. You saved me that night," Brennan recalled the night perfectly.

"You know how I told you that you were the hottest thing that town had seen?" Booth asked her.

"Yes, Booth," Brennan replied, blushing.

"Well, the same thing is true tonight," Booth replied and Brennan's eyes fell on his. Before she had a chance to say anything, Booth twirled her around his finger and then pulled her back to him as the song ended. They gazed at each other for what seemed like an eternity.

As Brennan broke the gaze and began to walk back towards the table, another song began which made her stop in her tracks. She turned back around to see Booth still standing on the dance floor, a sweet smile dancing across his lips. Brennan smiled back, tears in her eyes. He had planned this, she knew that in a heartbeat. He held out his hand again and she grasped onto it, allowing him to whisk her back into his arms.

"Keep On Tryin'" played as the two of them held each other's gaze, moving their bodies to the music. Brennan looked up at Booth, a wonderful feeling filling her heart and soul. A tear escaped her eyes and Booth wiped her cheek. Normally, she would have looked away, embarrassed. But not now; not tonight; not in this moment. She held his gaze and he could not stop smiling at her, amazed by her beauty.

Booth thought to himself It's now or never

"Temperance," he began as he pulled her body closer to his, "you are the only thing in my life that makes sense. Thank you for always being there for me," he had said most of it. There was only one part left, "I love you," he finished.

Brennan pulled away, distancing herself slightly from him, but they continued dancing. A look of confusion blanketed her face.

"What did you just say?" Brennan asked, knowing exactly what he had just said. But she couldn't believe it. Had he found it? He must have she thought. "How did you-" she couldn't even finish her sentence. She didn't know what to feel. She pulled out of his arms and stepped away.

"Temperance, I wanted to-" Booth began, but Brennan looked at him, her brow furrowed, and she backed away and headed towards the front of the restaurant.

Booth followed her as she walked away briskly. He paused and stopped back at the table to grab her handbag. He hurried on, stopping at the Maitre d' as Brennan continued out of the restaurant.

"Could you please put our meal under 'Booth.' I already gave the manager my credit card number. Thanks," Booth said quickly and hurried after Brennan.

She was partway through the lobby when he caught sight of her. "Temperance!" he called to her and she ignored him. "Bones!" Still no response. He started jogging and caught up with her as she headed out into the courtyard. He touched her shoulder and tried to turn her around.

"I thought that all of this was strange," Brennan said as she continued walking.

"Hey, Bones, wait a second," Booth tried again and finally managed to jump in front of her and stop her from walking any further. "Why was this strange?"

"You don't just buy me things and make dinner reservations and order champagne and ask the band to play such a meaningful song and then tell me that," Brennan said to him, tears spilling down her cheeks.

"I just wanted to make you feel special and-" Booth began

"Why? Do you think I need that, Booth? Do you think I need a man spoiling me to feel good about myself?" Brennan bit back.

Booth was hurt by this. He had only wanted her to be happy. He had thought that he would tell her the exact words she had written and she would realize that he had found the note and be happy that she hadn't actually had to give it to him, that he felt the same way. He had never expected this.

"Bones, I don't think any of that. But I wanted to do something for you because I care about you," Booth explained, grasping onto her shoulder.

Brennan looked up at him through her black tears. "Booth, do you even know why or when I wrote that note?" she asked him.

"No, that was the part that was killing me. I just thought-"

"I wrote it when I was buried underground in my car with Hodgins," she blurted out.

Booth froze. His expression changed and he must have turned white as a ghost. That was the last thing he had expected to hear.

"Temperance, I-I had no idea," Booth replied, glancing down.

Brennan continued to cry. "Didn't you wonder why I used the words, 'were' and 'made?' They were past tense because I thought I was going to die in there. I wanted you to know…" her voice trailed off and she looked away from him.

"What? You wanted me to know what?" Booth insisted.

"Nothing," Brennan replied and resumed walking towards the room, which was now just a pool length away.

"Bones, you can't just walk away like that. You wrote it for a reason," Booth continued.

"Yeah, because I thought I was going to die," Brennan replied as she stopped in front of the room. "It doesn't mean anything."

"Then why did you keep it in your desk?" Booth asked her; his feelings were crushed.

Brennan paused. She avoided his eye contact. She had no answer. She turned to the door and slipped the key in the slot, but it didn't work. She tried it again, this time a little more quickly. Again, it didn't work. "Stupid key!" she yelled at the inanimate object.

Although he was hurt, Booth saw that Brennan was hurting more. He had caught her without a response, even though he knew what the answer truly was. His heart started breaking for her as she fumbled with the key card. He stepped forward.

"Here, let me try," he offered, placing his hand gently on top of hers.

"I can get it," Brennan insisted.

"Temperance, let me do it," Booth said as calmly as he could.

She paused and after a moment, she relinquished control of the key card and stepped aside, still avoiding eye contact. Booth placed the key gently into the slot, the light turned green, and he turned the handle and the door opened. He held the door open for her.

She glanced at him and hurried through the door. He followed after allowing her a few moments.

"I think I'm going to go to bed," Brennan informed him. "I have the book signing at 10 tomorrow morning."

"Okay, good night, Temperance," Booth said sullenly.

"Good night," she said without looking at him, shutting the bedroom door behind her.

Booth's heart sank. This was not what he had intended to happen. He didn't even know what to do to help Brennan feel better. All he wanted to do was to hold her and tell her it was alright and that she didn't need to be embarrassed. Her vulnerability had been exposed to its fullest and he was mad at himself for not thinking about how she would respond to that fact. He was so wrapped up in making her feel like the most important woman in the world that he thought the words would only make things better.

He sighed and began getting ready for bed. As he laid down, a tear fell from his eyes. And then another…and another. For the first time in years, Booth cried himself to sleep.

Temperance had taken her dress and necklace off and had changed into a tank top and workout shorts before falling into bed. She laid on her stomach, staring at the clock. It was only 9:14, but she was exhausted. She had managed to stop crying, wiping her mascara streaked cheeks with the back of her hand, which was now black. She didn't care. She could not figure out what had just happened. She was taken aback by everything that Booth had done, but she also felt wonderful at the same time. Her heart had been soaring for most of the night. From the dress to the necklace to the song. Everything had been perfect. Everything had been too perfect Brennan thought. It always was. Her thoughts drifted to the note…the note she had written nearly 9 months earlier…trapped in a car with barely any air left. Hodgins had asked her if she wanted to say goodbye to anyone. She had hesitated only slightly before writing the words. But she had meant every word of it. She just hadn't been ready to let Booth know that.

I can't believe he found it! she thought, pursing her lips and sighing. Why didn't he just tell me about it? she pondered. She thought hard for a few minutes about everything that had happened over the past day and a half. Booth had been so sweet, so caring, so understanding, so…loving. Brennan's eyes widened at the thought of love. She didn't even know if she believed in it, but she had written it on that piece of paper and she had meant it. Booth had only wanted her to be happy…and only wanted her to know that he loved her. He had been trying to ease her into the idea by not making her have to say it first. If he had asked her about the note right away, she would have put up a wall around herself…and she knew that. The realization hit her like a ton of bricks. He was trying to make it easy on HER. He was thinking of HER. As always.

She had ruined it for him. This was all her fault.

Brennan closed her eyes tightly, grabbing one of the pillows and burying her face in it. The tears came so easily and they didn't stop until Brennan was heaving from exhaustion. Her dreams were filled with Booth and shades of aqua.

CHAPTER 13

Brennan awakened to the sound of her cell phone. She leaned up, groggily, and reached for her phone on the nightstand. "Angela" flashed across the screen.

"Hey, Ang," she spoke tiredly into the phone.

"Did I wake you up?" Angela asked.

"Yeah, but it's okay, I need to get up anyway," Brennan said as she looked at the clock. 8:06.

"Just wanted to call and see how things are," Angela said, wanting every detail.

"Things are just great, Ang. Perfect, couldn't be better," Brennan replied, sitting up in bed.

"Are you using sarcasm?" Angela asked her friend.

"Yes, yes I am, Angela," Brennan responded.

"What's wrong, sweetie?" Angela asked, very concerned.

"Booth and I just had a huge fight last night. I-I acted irrationally and I think I really hurt him," Brennan confessed.

"Why? What happened?" Angela inquired.

"You know the note that Hodgins gave you after the gravedigger incident?" Brennan asked.

"Yeah?"

"Well, I wrote one to Booth, but I never gave it to him. I don't know why, but I kept it in my desk and, well, he found it," Brennan explained.

"Oh my God, sweetie. Wait, how did that lead to a fight?" Angela asked quizzically.

"Ang, he told me…" Brennan paused, "…he told me he loved me."

"WHAT?!?!" Angela practically yelled into the phone. She paused a moment before realizing that this should be a good thing, not a bad thing. "And I repeat…how did that lead to a fight?" Angela was in a state of bliss as well as shock.

"It was because of the note," Brennan said.

"Well, what did you write to him?" Angela was eager

"I told him…" Brennan pursed her lips and sighed, "…I told him he was the only thing in my life that ever made sense and I thanked him for always being there for him and I told him I loved him," Brennan said rapidly. "And he said the exact same words to me so I would know that he had found the note."

Angela's eyes went wide and her mouth dropped. "Oh my God! Bren, sweetie, that is the sweetest thing I have ever heard in my life. I wish Hodgins would do that," Angela exclaimed.

"Hodgins bought you a $3,000 bottle of perfume, Ang," Brennan reminded her.

"True, but I never benefited from it. It was used as life support for the two of you," Angela responded, smirking. She loved her Hodgie.

"And he bought me a dress and a gorgeous necklace and he took me to dinner and dancing and-"

"And you didn't end up in bed together?" Angela asked, extremely confused.

"It was my fault, Ang. I overreacted. I think I told him that the note didn't mean anything or something like that. I was horrible," Brennan told her friend, near tears again.

"Bren, if I know Booth like I think I know him, he'll forgive you. You just have to muster up the courage to say you're sorry," Angela advised her.

"I know. Look, I have to go get ready for my book signing. I'll try to talk to him before I leave," Brennan told her.

"Alright, sweetie, good luck. Call me later, okay?" Angela said tenderly.

"I will. And Ang," Brennan added.

"Yeah?"

"Thank you," Brennan said sincerely.

"You're welcome. Love you, bye," Angela replied.

"Bye."

Brennan put her phone down and decided to go talk to Booth. She put her robe on and headed to the living room. She stepped through the doorway, but Booth was not there. He had turned the bed back into a sofa and the table had been put back. His suitcase sat on one of the chairs. On the table was a daisy from the vase on the desk. Brennan walked over and picked it up. Underneath the flower were two slips of paper. The first read: "Temperance, I'm sorry if I hurt you. That was the last thing I intended to do. I've gone out for the day. I will be back later this afternoon. If you would like for me to go home, I have already packed. All you have to do is say the word. Booth."

Brennan read this and then moved on to the next one. She didn't have to read it to know what it was. The crumpling of the paper told her all she needed to know. The tears started flowing freely again and two drops fell onto the crumpled note. She dropped both notes and the flower on the table and began to dry her eyes. She had two book signings and she had to get ready.

CHAPTER 14

Brennan had managed to survive nearly 3 hours of signing books at Barnes and Noble. She was utterly exhausted and she still had another 3 hour session of book signing later. How she was going to make it through the day, she had no idea. The steady stream of people had begun to thin out and instead of 30 books, she was now only signing 2 or 3 books every 5 minutes. She glanced at her watch: 12:53. 7 more minutes and she was done. Then she would have an hour to grab some food and make it to her next signing, which was at 3:00. Luckily, she only had to drive down the street.

One more person showed up in the final 3 minutes and Brennan signed his book and smiled cheerily after him. The instant he turned away, she dropped her shoulders and took a long, deep breath. The manager of the store approached her.

"Thank you so much, Dr. Brennan. Barnes and Noble appreciates it," the manager whose nametag said "Stan" said as he extended his hand.

Brennan took it and replied, "Of course. Thank you for the opportunity. Nice to meet you."

Brennan gathered her bag and her book and set off for the car. As she got in the car, she suddenly wondered how Booth was getting around all day. Maybe he had rented another car. He was thinking about leaving, so that was a good possibility.

Brennan drove the few minutes to the Scottsdale Fashion Square where her signing was taking place. She figured she could eat in the mall's food court before heading to the signing. She parked her car and headed into the "fashion square." The food court was close by and she stood in the middle to determine what she wanted to eat. She finally settled on Subway and got in line.

She knew that her day was hectic, but she had to find time to talk to Booth. He hadn't said exactly what time he would be back and her signing wasn't done until 6:00, so she couldn't really do anything about it until then. But that didn't stop her from thinking about him nearly all day. Not even the rush of fans (mostly male and single) hadn't kept her thoughts from wandering to Booth. What was she going to do? What was she going to say to him? She had no idea. She had never been in this kind of situation before.

"Excuse me, miss. Miss?"

A man standing behind Brennan tapped her on the shoulder. She startled.

"I'm sorry, but it's your turn," he informed her.

Brennan looked in front of her and indeed, it was her turn to order. "I'm so sorry," she apologized to the man.

She had been in such a trance all day. She ordered her food without really thinking and found a table. Everything was in a haze and she could not figure out, for the life of her, what to say to Booth. She couldn't just say "I'm sorry" and let it be that. This went so much deeper and she needed to say exactly the right things, which she wasn't very good at doing in any normal situation, let alone this one.

Brennan took a bite of her veggie sub and chewed thoughtfully. A few moments later, a woman walked up behind her.

"Excuse me, dear, would you mind if I sat at the other half of this table? All of the seats are taken." the woman asked her.

Brennan swallowed and turned to face the woman. The woman's eyes lit up.

"Dr. Brennan! What a coincidence! Can you even believe this? We just keep running into each other all over the place," Wendy exclaimed.

"Wendy, hello. Please, go ahead and take a seat," Brennan replied, actually pleased to have a distraction and for once, not annoyed by the red-headed woman.

"Thank you, my dear! This is such a pleasant surprise! Oh my, I have your book right here in my purse. Would you mind signing it for me? I mean, after you finish eating," Wendy asked Brennan, her blue eyes beaming. She sat down and began eating her chicken lo mein.

"Yes, of course. And Wendy, I didn't know how to get in touch with you, but I wanted to thank you so much for the couples' massage you bought us. That was, well, you didn't have to do something like that," Brennan told her, smiling.

"Now, how did you know that was me?" Wendy asked, smirking.

"Booth figured it out. He's pretty good at figuring things out like that," Brennan said, smiling at the thought of Booth.

"Now, where is the handsome man?" Wendy asked, glancing behind Brennan, expecting to see him.

"Oh, well, he's doing other things today. I have a book signing here at 3:00," Brennan replied, glancing down at her sub.

"Uh-oh. Did you two have a fight?" Wendy asked, intuitively.

"Well, uh-"

"Didn't mean to pry, sorry," Wendy apologized.

"No, it's okay. It's just…complicated," Brennan explained.

"Well, as long as we're on the topic, you can tell you're miserable just by looking at you," Wendy told Brennan.

"You can?" Brennan asked.

"This 'fight,' it's your fault, isn't it?" Wendy asked.

Brennan nodded.

"At least you know that. That's a lot more than a lot of people are willing to admit," Wendy continued.

Brennan didn't know why, but she felt like this woman had some sort of intuition…kind of like Booth. Brennan felt that she could trust Wendy and she found herself asking her for help.

"I just don't know what to do now. How do I make it right?" Brennan asked, truly wanting to know the answer.

"Well, that's simple, honey. Whatever he did for you, you know, before the fight…you do it for him. Make HIM feel special. And if I were you, I'd use the greatest talent you've got," Wendy told Brennan, winking at her.

"What's my greatest talent?" Brennan asked, shaking her head.

"You don't know?" Wendy asked. Brennan paused, squinting her eyes in confusion. Wendy smiled and reached down into her purse and pulled out Brennan's book. "It's all in here."

Brennan looked down at her book and then back up at Wendy. Of course! It was obvious…so obvious that naturally, Brennan would overlook it. She would write him another note. She was great at two things: 1. reading bones and 2. writing. Brennan's eyes softened and a smile spread across her face. Wendy grinned back at her, knowing that the doctor had just come to a realization.

"There you go, dear. Now, I've got to run, but I will see you at the hotel," Wendy said as she rose from her seat.

"Thank you," Brennan told her.

"You are more than welcome, dear. And thank you for putting up with a crazy fan," Wendy said.

Brennan smiled as Wendy left. A few moments passed before she realized that she hadn't signed Wendy's book yet again. She got up and glanced around for Wendy, but she was gone. Maybe she would come to the book signing or maybe she would see her at the hotel. She was going to sign that woman's book if it killed her because that woman had just saved her relationship with Booth.

Brennan's mood changed dramatically and she went into her second book signing with a smile on her face. She knew EXACTLY what she was going to do.

CHAPTER 15

Brennan arrived back at the room around 7:45. The book signing had been over at 6:00, but she had quite a few things to do before heading back to the hotel. She had tried calling Booth around 6:15, but he hadn't answered. His phone had gone straight to voicemail. She was not at all surprised that Booth did not want to talk to her. She just hoped that he would forgive her.

Brennan's heart sank as she walked into the living room. There was no Booth. His suitcase was still sitting on the sofa, so she knew he hadn't gone home. He had said he'd be back by late afternoon and it was well into the evening.

"Booth?" she called out and checked the bedroom and the bathroom (carefully this time). Upon reentering the living room, she noticed that the side pocket of the suitcase was unzipped and a few items were falling out. Brennan squinted down at the suitcase and noticed that his sunglasses' case and his sunscreen were lying out. She opened the case and found no sunglasses. She immediately knew where he was.

She left the room and walked the 15 feet to the pool. The sun was setting, but it was still nearly 100 degrees out and there were a handful of people at the pool. Two kids swam in the shallow end while a woman watched. An older couple sat on lounge chairs, holding hands. Brennan thought this was quite sweet. Her eyes panned slowly from left to right. They finally fell on a tall, dark, and handsome man wearing sunglasses and swim trunks, lying on a lounge chair. Brennan smiled. She had been so focused on getting into the room that she hadn't seen him before. He apparently hadn't seen her either, or he had ignored her. The thought pained her and she shook it away.

She sighed and found the courage to walk over to the lazy boy in the lounge chair. He didn't move as she approached.

"Booth?" she asked. He still didn't budge. She sat on the lounge chair next to him and poked his shoulder. "Booth?"

"Huh, what, where?" Booth sprang up and Brennan leaned back. His eyes settled on her and he swiped his hand across his face, trying to wake up. "You okay?" he asked her.

She was confused. "Yes, I'm fine."

He took a moment to get reoriented and he finally realized that he had fallen asleep at the pool. He took his sunglasses off, avoiding direct eye contact with Brennan.

"Booth, I know you probably don't want to talk to me because, well…that's understandable," Brennan began to say. Booth looked over at her. She was struggling for the words and he felt badly for her. "Can we go to the room? I have some things to tell you," Brennan suggested, hoping that he wouldn't be upset.

"Sure, Bones," Booth replied and he got up and held his hand for her to get up. She looked at his hand and then at him and finally, she took it.

Once they were safely inside the suite, Booth grabbed a wife-beater and put it on over his head. Brennan walked to the desk and pulled a brown paper bag out of a sack.

"My first peace offering," she said as she handed the bag to Booth. He took it and pulled out a bottle of Dom Perignon. He half-smiled and set the bottle down on the table.

Brennan then walked over to her purse and pulled out a piece of notebook paper. "I just want to say that I'm sorry," Brennan began as Booth took a seat on the sofa. Brennan stood just in front of the table. "I-I acted irrationally because…because I was scared. I never thought you would see that note and I wrote it when…" Brennan could not hold back the tears, "…when I thought I only had an hour to live. Every word of it was true…it still is. I just…I didn't know how to handle it and I handled it badly. Extremely badly," she emphasized the last two words. She looked away from Booth and down at the paper in her hands. She shifted her jaw as she tried to fight back the tears. It was no use.

Booth sat there, his heart breaking inside. He wasn't mad at her. He just wanted her to be alright, to be herself again. His face softened as she spoke the words. He had been so afraid that she would still be mad at him. He remained silent.

"This is for you, Booth," Brennan said after a long pause, extending the paper out to him. "I want you to read it now. I can leave the room if you'd like," Brennan told him.

Booth took hold of the paper. "You don't have to leave, Bones," he told her. He looked at her and she didn't move. She stayed right in the same spot. He focused his attention on the piece of paper. It was folded in half. He opened it and began to read:

"Dr. Kathy Reichs stood in front of FBI Special Agent Andy Lister, begging him to stay. She knew she had behaved like a complete and utter wacko the night before. Booth couldn't help but smile He had done the most amazing things for her…things that no one had ever done for her. He had made her feel like a princess. And most of all, he had made her feel like the most wonderful woman in the world. She was so used to pushing people away that it was strange for her to let someone in. But she had done just that with Andy and when he had revealed his soul to her, she had crushed his heart with a hammer. She was afraid that he wouldn't forgive her. After everything they had been through together, she thought that he would, but there was a part of her that was incredibly frightened that he would walk out of her life forever. She knew that she couldn't deal with that. She needed him…more than she probably knew. As cliché as it sounded, he was the half that made her whole. He made her complete. She didn't know herself without him anymore. She wanted so badly to take back the way she had reacted the night before. She wanted to run into his arms because that was where she felt the safest. Nothing could hurt her when she was in his arms…nothing. He was her guardian angel. And now she stood before him, hoping that he would realize how much she cared for him and how sorry she was…and how much she truly loved him. She held her breath, waiting for his answer…"

Booth paused a moment before folding the piece of paper in half and setting it on the table. Brennan held her breath, staring intently at Booth, waiting…

Booth stood up, avoiding eye contact with Brennan, and walked over to the desk. Brennan's eyes followed his every step. His back was turned to her. He reached into a bag on the desk and then turned around with his hand stretched out in front of him. Slowly, a smile crept its way to either side of his face.

Brennan stared at the small object in Booth's hand and she couldn't hold back the laugh…or the tears.

"Dr. Brennan, meet Jezebelle. I thought Jasper might be getting a little lonely," Booth said as he walked closer to Brennan. She looked down at the pig figurine and as Booth reached her, she grabbed it and held it up. "Thought he might need a partner."

"Partners are good things to have," Brennan responded, smiling intently at him.

"You think? Really? Cause I thought you liked being alone," Booth teased.

"Not anymore. You changed that," Brennan said to him, another tear falling from her eyes.

Booth gazed into her beautiful blue eyes. "I did?" he asked, playfully raising one eyebrow. He thought about the letter she had written. "And you don't believe in guardian angels," Booth added.

"But Kathy Reichs does," she told him, "And so does Seeley Booth," she added, tears of joy spilling out onto her cheeks. He reached his hand up to her face and wiped away the tears just as he had done the night before, when they were dancing.

He couldn't believe how amazing she was. "You are so beautiful, Temperance," he told her, bringing his hand up and softly grazing her shoulder, their faces now only inches apart.

She shivered and closed her eyes at the same time. When she opened them again, Booth was still gazing at her. She looked down, breathing more rapidly, and as she did, Booth wrapped his arms around her. She reached around his body and held on tight, her head buried in his chest. The tears continued to flow.

"I'm so sorry, Booth. You told me how you felt and I ruined it for you," Brennan apologized as she clung to him. He held her tighter, pressing her close to him. He placed his hand on her head and stroked her soft hair.

"Shh. It's alright," Booth reassured her, thinking of how absolutely adorable her snippet about Kathy Reichs and Andy Lister had been.

Brennan pulled out of the embrace, her hair matted to her face, and she looked up at him. Her eyes studied his eyes as they looked right into her soul. "I love you, Seeley," she told him, holding his gaze intently.

He brushed the hair out of her eyes, smiling sweetly. Hearing her call him by his first name sent his heart soaring. "I love you, Temperance," he said, continuing to stroke her hair.

Temperance leaned forward ever so slightly and their lips met. His kiss was so soft and tender and she fell deep into his arms. She held Jezebelle in her right hand as she grazed Booth's lips over and over again. She reached her left hand around to the back of his neck and ran her fingers through his hair. Each kiss became increasingly more passionate and finally, Brennan broke out of the kiss, not opening her eyes.

"Bedroom," was all she managed to say before Booth's lips met hers again.

"Lead," lips, "the," lips, "way," he responded.

Jezebelle fell from Brennan's grasp as Booth pushed her towards the bedroom door. "Wait, Jezebelle!" Brennan said.

"Jezebelle's fine out here," Booth said as he looked to where the pig figurine had fallen. He reached back for Brennan, grabbing her and pulling her towards him as he continued to maneuver towards the bedroom. She reached for his shirt and attempted to pull it off. It got stuck on his nose and Brennan broke out in uproarious laughter.

"Oh, you think that's clever, do you?" Booth said with the shirt still covering most of his face, hooked on his nose. "I'll show you clever," he said, a mischievous gleam in his eye as he tore the shirt off of his head.

Brennan's eyes expanded and a mischievous grin spread across her face as Booth grabbed her and propelled her through the doorway, closing…slamming the door behind him.

CHAPTER 16

"Yes, this is Dr. Temperance Brennan. I'm afraid I have come down with the flu and I need to cancel the book signing at 10:00," Brennan said, glancing at the clock: 7:32. Her voice was husky as she attempted to truly sound sick. Meanwhile, Booth was kissing her neck and her chin and her shoulders.

"I'm sorry to hear that, Dr. Brennan. We have a Spiderman impersonator we can call as a backup," the man on the phone informed her, sounding way too excited.

"Okay," Brennan said, not caring in the slightest, "thank you, goodbye." She hung up her phone and ran her fingers through Booth's hair. She was glowing.

"Geez, that took you long enough," Booth whined as his lips moved from her neck straight to her lips. She brushed his lips again and her entire body shuddered from the touch. Nothing like that had ever happened to her. "Are you cold?" Booth asked, reacting to the shudder.

"No, I'm warm," she reached her hand up to the side of his eye and rubbed his temple with her thumb, gazing lovingly at him. He closed his eyes in response and then he turned his head and kissed her thumb.

"God, you're beautiful," Booth told Brennan for the millionth time.

"You already said that," she informed him, beaming at him.

"Well, it's still true," he said, smiling softly as he took her hand and began to get up. "Come on, get up," he said as he softly tugged on her arm.

"What? Why? I just cancelled a book signing to be with you and you're getting up? Booth!" she whined and he thought it was the cutest thing ever.

He jumped up and off of the bed and started for the bathroom. He had Snoopy boxers on and Brennan laughed at them. She hadn't even noticed them earlier.

"Well, I was going to take a shower and I thought you might want to join me, but if you're all cozy right there, then I guess I'm on my own," Booth said as he sighed and turned towards the bathroom door, his thumbs positioned on the elastic band of his Snoopy boxers.

"Wait, Booth!" Brennan darted out of bed, and she nearly tripped over her own feet. "Why didn't you say that in the first place?" she asked, shooting him a classic Brennan look of confusion.

She brushed right past him and into the bathroom, leaving him standing there, a little stunned. A moment later, she popped back into the bedroom, grabbed him, kissed him and dragged him into the bathroom before he could even utter a sound.

It was hot…VERY hot. But Brennan didn't seem to care. Booth was pleased to find out that Brennan had indeed packed a swimsuit even though she had originally told him she hadn't. Although, he was somewhat disappointed to find out that it was a one-piece and not a bikini (of course, why would Bones have a bikini? he had thought). She was now basking in the Phoenix sun in a lounge chair by the pool. Booth had insisted that she slather on about half a bottle of sunscreen (SPF 45), considering that she was so incredibly fair-skinned. "You'll look like a lobster if you don't," he had told her as she had grabbed the sunscreen from his hand. Even though beads of sweat were beginning to form at the top of her head, Brennan didn't care. She was loving every minute of this. Why don't I take vacations more often?

Booth climbed the ladder out of the pool and his eyes fell on Brennan. She had on big black sunglasses that covered two thirds of her face. The one-piece swimsuit had started to grow on him as it was fairly low-cut and framed her curves well. Apparently, her eyes were closed, because Booth was able to stand there for quite a few minutes before Brennan noticed.

"What?" she asked him, lifting her head.

"I think it's time for another coating," he said, jumping forward and grabbing the sunscreen.

"Booth, you've slathered me in that stuff 3 times already. I think I'm fine," Brennan protested.

"You of all people should know how bad skin cancer can be," Booth told her as he pulled her up into a sitting position on the lounge chair. He started to rub the lotion on her back.

"Booth, I've been in the Western Sahara in hotter temperatures. I think I know how much sunscreen to use," she informed him, slightly annoyed, but also slightly touched that he was thinking of her.

"Yeah well, you still need to be protected," he replied as he turned her shoulders towards him and rubbed some lotion into her upper chest.

While he slathered, she looked at him, dreamily. She leaned forward and kissed him on the forehead, smiling.

"What was that for?" Booth asked her, putting the sunscreen away.

"Nothing," she replied, still grinning at him. "Now it's your turn." Brennan grabbed the sunscreen as Booth let out a whine. "Hey, no whining," she said as she began rubbing lotion onto his back.

Booth rolled his eyes. "You know, I'm not my son. I don't whine," he told her.

Brennan laughed. "Yes, you do," she replied.

"I do not!" he argued (with a hint of a whine), turning his body around. She grabbed his shoulders and maneuvered him back to his original position.

"Whatever you say…Parker," Brennan said, snickering.

"Okay then," Booth said as he clapped his hands and jumped up from the lounge chair, "I think it's time for another dip."

"Okay, you have fun. I'm staying right here," Brennan replied as she leaned back in the lounge chair and closed her eyes, in a state of peaceful bliss.

A few moments later, Brennan's peace was destroyed. Two rather large and buff arms were underneath her back and legs. She opened her eyes in time to see Booth looking down at her as he scooped her up.

"Booth!" she screamed. She continued screaming and kicking all the way to the water. He let her go in the deep end as she flailed her arms and legs, squealing like Jezebelle would all the way.

She was swallowed by the water for a few moments before popping back up again. She wiped her eyes and glared up at him.

"Booth!" she yelled, thoroughly irritated. All he could do was laugh, his hands on his hips.

"What?" he asked innocently, standing at the edge of the pool.

In a moment, Brennan's expression changed dramatically as she treaded water.

"You think that's funny, do you?" Brennan asked him, smiling mischievously.

"Yeah, I thought it was pretty good," he replied, crossing his arms in triumph.

"Well, how about this?" Brennan asked.

A split second later, Booth was launched into the pool himself. As the splash subsided and he popped up out of the water, he looked to the side of the pool where he had been standing. Right in his place was an oddly familiar head of red hair. The woman underneath the red hair cackled and Brennan joined in.

Booth's ego was completely crushed. He looked from Brennan to Wendy and then back to Brennan. He grabbed Brennan and pushed her underneath the water and she popped back up and splashed him.

"That's what you get," Brennan told him.

"Ha-ha, very funny," Booth replied, still slightly embarrassed.

"Thank you, Wendy. That truly was perfect timing," Brennan thanked her partner in crime. "As usual," she added, realizing that Wendy seemed to be in all the right places at all the right times.

"Of course, dear. Anything for my favorite forensic anthropologist. So, I see you two made up," Wendy said as Brennan climbed out of the pool.

Booth followed. "What's she talking about?" Booth asked Brennan.

"Nothing for you to worry about," Brennan replied, taking a towel from the lounge chair and drying herself off as she walked towards Wendy.

"I just saw you two over here and I decided to stop by. I'm leaving today, so I wanted to say goodbye," Wendy told them.

"Wait, I need to sign your book. Do you have it with you?" Brennan asked her.

"Oh, thank you so much, dear," Wendy said as she reached into one of her bags and pulled out "Blood, Flesh, and Bone." "You don't know how much this means to me," Wendy told Brennan.

Brennan smiled and sat down to write. She took a pen from Wendy and began, "Dear Wendy, I cannot thank you enough for everything. You saved my partnership and for that, I am truly grateful. Yours truly, Dr. Temperance Brennan. P.S. You can call me 'Tempe.'"

Wendy watched her as she wrote, reading the words. "How about if I call you Bren?" Wendy asked, a smug smile on her face.

"Sure. My best friend calls me that," Brennan told Wendy. But as she closed the book, she caught a glimpse of the inside cover. The words, "Wendy Montenegro" were written in blue ink on the first page. Brennan's jaw dropped and she looked up at Wendy.

"I so appreciate it, dear," Wendy responded, a knowing smile wide across her face. "Well, now I'm off to catch my flight. You two have a wonderful rest of your stay," Wendy said as she got up. Brennan and Booth rose with her. Brennan's jaw was still open and her eyes were wide in disbelief.

"Wait, how are you related?" Brennan asked Wendy.

"Huh?" Booth was utterly confused.

"Oh, I'm just a dear old auntie," Wendy replied.

Brennan smiled and pursed her lips. "I'm going to have a little chat with that…meddler," Brennan said, in a state of disbelief. She managed a smile as she folded her arms across her chest. She couldn't really be that mad after everything that had happened.

"Huh?" Booth repeated, even more confused.

"So, Agent Booth, are you going to say goodbye?" Wendy addressed Booth.

"Yes, of course. So nice to meet you, Wendy," he said as he reached out to shake her hand.

"Oh, don't be silly. I'll be having a hug from such a handsome man, thank you very much," Wendy replied and gave Booth a very hard squeeze. Booth's face contorted, but he managed a smile when Wendy pulled out of the hug.

"Alright then," Booth said, a little off-balance.

Brennan smirked to herself. If only he knew what this Wendy woman had done. If only he knew what a certain Miss Montenegro had done. I am going to wring her clavicle!

"Goodbye, you two," Wendy said as she turned to leave. "Oh, and always remember your greatest talent, my dear," she added, winking at Brennan.

Brennan nodded slightly, smiling as the older woman walked away with her luggage in tow.

"What did that mean?" Booth asked Brennan, thoroughly confused.

"Nothing. It's a girl thing," she told him and patted him on the shoulder.

"A girl thing? Bones, do you even know what that means?" he asked her.

"Don't worry about it, Booth. You don't have to know everything, do you?" she said, sitting back down on the lounge chair.

"No, but I just don't get it. I thought you thought she was crazy," he replied, still confused about what had just taken place.

"Well, I was wrong. She's actually kind of like a guardian angel," Brennan replied.

"You don't believe in guardian angels, Bones," Booth reminded her as he sat down.

"Well…some things change," she said and looked over sweetly at Booth.

His face softened and their eyes connected. "Yeah, they sure do," Booth replied as he reached forward and met her lips.

Damn, Angela, you're good

CHAPTER 17

Angela's cell phone was interrupting her nap.

"Hello?" she answered, sleepily.

"Angela!" Angela pulled the phone away from her ear, but smiled upon returning it to her face.

"You're welcome, sweetie," Angela replied and hung up, grinning from ear to ear.

CHAPTER 18

Airport security hadn't been all that bad at Sky Harbor and as a result, Booth and Brennan were nearly 2 hours early for their flight. Booth didn't mind spending even more quality time with his Bones. They found a coffee shop and sat at a little table by the window, where they could see out onto the tarmac.

"I told you security wouldn't take that long in the middle of a Monday afternoon," Brennan informed Booth for perhaps the 10th time.

"Yeah, I know, you said that, but you never know. Plus I had to return my rental car and that took time," Booth defended.

"And it is now precisely 2:30 and our flight doesn't leave until 4:17," Brennan twisted her watch so she could see it.

"Calm down, Bones. You're the one that booked the insanely late flight. We're going to get home at 1 in the morning!" Booth exclaimed.

"My publicist booked my flight, not me. And it was because I was SUPPOSED to have a photo session with a book club this morning. But THAT didn't happen, now did it?" Brennan said, irritated as her blue eyes widened with every word.

Booth just looked at her, a little smirk on his face. "And whose fault was that?" he asked, trying to remind her.

"YOURS!" Brennan replied, clearly attempting to blame the fact that she hadn't wanted to leave Booth's arms and had whined every time Booth had tried to tell her that she probably shouldn't cancel two work-related events in a row…on him.

"Ha! Hardly! You were the one who didn't want me to so much as move my arm because your 'abdomen was cold.' Honestly, how does your abdomen get cold?" he fought back.

Brennan pursed her lips and her eyes just about popped out of her head before she realized it was no use.

"It…just…was," she replied, rather unintelligently.

Of course she knew that it was entirely her fault that she had cancelled her final event of her book tour. But she figured she would at least attempt to blame it on Booth because he was, after all, the ENTIRE reason it was her fault. Does that even make sense?His arms, his lips, his breath, his…body…she hadn't wanted any part of him to move. And so they stayed entwined in each other's arms for the whole morning, occasionally starting a game of what Parker refers to as "Ticklemonster" and occasionally playing numerous other kinds of slightly more adult games.

Brennan sighed and surrendered to Booth's charm smile as she sat back down, realizing that she had risen up out of her seat and had been shouting.

"You were the one who wanted to stay longer," she said after a minute.

"Yeah? And your point would be…?" Booth asked, confused, knowing that Brennan was trying to reassemble her broken ego…and thinking that it was absolutely adorable.

"I…don't have a point. We just need to get back to work," Brennan surrendered yet again.

"Right. Work. But seriously, Temperance, wouldn't it be great to take a nice long vacation? Perhaps somewhere not quite as deathly hot as Phoenix in the summer, but still…somewhere? Huh?" Booth tempted Brennan.

She smiled. "Yes, it would be nice, but I don't have time to take off of work. I still don't know how you managed to take the week off. Don't you have to make that up?" Brennan asked.

"Yeah, but you wanna know something?" Booth asked, leaning in as though he were going to tell her a secret. She leaned her head in, extremely eager to hear what he had to say.

"What?" she asked after he had stopped speaking.

"It was worth it," he said as a bright smile broke out across his mouth.

Brennan tilted her head to one side, grinning girlishly. "Well, I'm glad to hear that."

"Really? Are you now?" Booth asked, still smiling. "You know, you're going to have a lot to tell Angela when we get home," he added.

Brennan sighed. "I think she might already have an idea," she replied as she had not told Booth about Wendy.

"Yeah. Angela seems to always know…things. What's with that?" Booth wondered.

"She's Angela," was all Brennan could say.

"Very true. So, do you want a coffee? Since we are in fact, in a coffee shop?" Booth asked her as he got up from the chair.

"I suppose. Large white chocolate mocha for me," she told him.

"Coming right up," he replied, kissing her on the cheek and then on the lips…4 or 5 times before finding his way to the line to order.

She smiled dreamily after him for a moment before turning her attention to the window. She watched baggage being conveyed into a plane below. One bag fell off and a man with a bright orange vest scrambled to pick it up. She sighed, trying to rationalize everything that had happened in the past few days. She and Booth were…a couple? Yes, they were. What exactly do we do now? she wondered. Her brow wrinkled and her eyes glazed a bit as she thought. Her thoughts were shattered by the sound of something breaking. Brennan jumped as she was pulled out of her reverie and she looked over to see a broken plate, a muffin, and 2 cups of coffee scattered across the coffee shop floor. She looked up and Booth was standing, frozen in his spot, his cell phone to his ear.

She got up and walked the few feet to him. "Booth? What's wrong?"

The coffee shop girl came by to try and help. "Is everything okay?"

"Yes, we're fine. Sorry about the mess," Brennan said as she tried to pull Booth to one side.

Booth looked like a ghost; all color had drained from his face. "Drew, tell her that we'll be there soon," he spoke into the phone, his voice quivering. He slowly closed his cell phone, but did not move a muscle.

"Booth? What's going on?" Brennan asked, deeply concerned at this point.

"Parker…gone," he whispered, his eyes glazed over.

"What? Booth, I can't understand-"

"Parker's been kidnapped," Booth finally managed to say.

Brennan's face fell and she turned white as a ghost. He was clearly in a state of shock as Brennan could see. She was on her cell phone so fast and within 3 minutes, she had booked them on a 3:00 flight.

"Come on, we board in 5 minutes," she told him as she helped him maneuver out of the coffee shop.


End file.
